The building industry is no longer just about wolf whistles and bum cleavage.

Women's Editor Christen Pears meets one of the country's few female construction bosses.

"HAVE you brought your wellies?" asks Zoe Plummer as I step out of my car onto a rain-soaked, muddy building site. Stupidly, I haven't, but as it's raining so heavily, Zoe suggests we go inside the red brick house that's currently serving as a site hut.

Typical of the large, detached houses in this part of Malton in North Yorkshire, it has been standing empty for two years and will eventually be demolished to make way for the new development being built by Zoe's company, Fulford Builders. She shows me a model of the site and a set of architect's drawings, which show just four extremely modern houses, all straight lines and huge amounts of glass.

"We've always built small, exclusive developments but in the past, they've been stone, with small windows, typical of the vernacular architecture in North Yorkshire villages. This time I wanted to do something different," Zoe explains.

"One of the things customers are always talking about is how much they want light and space and they're the first principles we started from."

This is typical of the 33-year-old's attitude to her work. As a woman in an industry dominated by men, she brings a fresh approach, and she's just as comfortable in a business suit negotiating land deals or on the site wearing a hard hat.

"There are hardly any women builders but to be honest, I've never really found it hard being a woman because I've just got on with things. I've never had a chip on my shoulder about it or felt the need to prove myself. Some of the people working for me have been in the construction industry for 30 years and they know much more than I'll ever know. If there's something I don't know, I will ask, and I think people appreciate that."

The company was founded by Zoe's father, David, and at first, she was reluctant to follow in his footsteps, despite having trained as a quantity surveyor.

"People always used to say to me that I didn't need to work very hard because I would go into the family business. I did have a problem with that for a long time. I worked for another company for four years but I realised in my mid-20s that it was a fantastic opportunity and I was denying myself by not taking it up"

Six years ago, she swallowed her pride and joined the business, taking over from her father. There was no handover period, she went straight in at the deep end.

"I just turned up one day and told the men I had taken over. It was a real challenge because although I had a lot of technical knowledge, I had never been in a management position before. It was a pretty steep learning curve but my dad was there to give me advice if I needed it. I think the biggest obstacle wasn't being a woman but being the boss's daughter but it's all worked out and I absolutely love it."

In fact, she has such a good rapport with her employees and suppliers, she persuaded some of them to strip off for Northern Grit, a calendar to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Relief. "They must enjoy working with me if they were willing to do that, especially as we shot it on the site on an absolutely freezing cold day," she laughs as she leafs through a copy.

Fulford Builders are currently working on five housing sites across North Yorkshire, as well an apartment development in Blackburn. Zoe spends most of her time in the office in Clifton but visits each of the sites at least once a week, and she recently changed her management style, adopting a more open approach and involving employees at every level. There's a monthly team briefing where everyone is invited to express their views. "I am quite hands-on and I like everyone else to be involved as well. My job is so broad, I do everything from buying the land to dealing with employees but I did a part-time law degree, which I find very helpful for conveyancing and employment law."

She's just drawn up a five-year business plan, which sets a target of increasing the company's current annual turnover from £2m to £5m. It's ambitious, but Zoe is confident she can achieve it.

She also hopes her success will encourage other women to follow in her footsteps.

In the six years she has been running the business, Zoe hasn't received a single job application from a woman, despite moves designed to make the construction industry more appealing. Handling rules have changed, reducing the weight of bags of building materials from 50kg to 25kg and all sites must now have hot and cold running water and facilities for making hot meals.

"The industry has changed but people still see it as unglamorous. I think their perceptions will change over the next few years because there are some great opportunities for women in all areas. I hope people will see the work I'm doing and realise you can be a successful female builder."